Heartbreak in Starkville. It’s the only way to describe the atmosphere at Humphrey Coliseum after the final buzzer on Saturday night. If you’re looking for the Mississippi State basketball score, the scoreboard told a brutal story for the home crowd: Ole Miss 68, Mississippi State 67.
Rivalry games are usually messy. This one was a certified rock fight.
Chris Jans has built a reputation on "Bulldog-style" defense, but Saturday night proved that even the toughest units can crumble under the pressure of a late-game surge. State looked like they had this one in the bag. They jumped out to a 6-0 lead and actually held an 11-point advantage at one point in the first half. But against a Chris Beard-coached team, no lead is safe.
Honesty, it was hard to watch the shooting percentages. Neither team could find the bottom of the net with any consistency. State finished the night shooting just under 40% from the field. Hubbard, the guy everyone expects to carry the load, had one of those nights that players want to delete from the memory bank.
The Final Minutes of the Mississippi State Basketball Score
The ending was pure chaos. With about 35 seconds left, Josh Hubbard drove the lane, drew a foul, and sank two clutch free throws. That put the Bulldogs up 67-66. The Hump was shaking. You’ve got to feel for the fans who thought that was the dagger.
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Then came Patton Pinkins.
The Ole Miss freshman is turning into a nightmare for the SEC. He’s already hit a buzzer-beater to take down Georgia, and here he was again, floating a shot over the State defense with 19 seconds remaining. It went in. Just like that, the lead evaporated.
State had one last chance. Hubbard got to the line again with 11.4 seconds on the clock. Usually, that’s where the game ends in a Bulldog victory. But the ball didn't lie—or maybe it lied too much. He missed both. A desperate layup attempt at the buzzer clanked off the rim, and the Rebels celebrated on the Bulldogs' logo.
Why the Scoring Droughts Are Killing State
You can’t just look at the final score and understand the problem. The real issue is the "scoring lulls" that have plagued this roster all season. Against Ole Miss, the Bulldogs went through a four-minute stretch in the first half without a single point. You can survive that against a mid-major. You can't survive that in the SEC.
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- Jayden Epps led the team with 14 points, but he needed 12 shots to get there.
- Josh Hubbard was held to 13 points on a staggering 3-of-16 shooting performance.
- Jamarion Davis-Fleming provided a spark with some rim-rattling dunks, but the perimeter game was non-existent.
Basically, if Hubbard isn't "on," the offense looks stagnant. The Rebels knew it, too. They shadowed him the entire night, forcing the ball into the hands of shooters who just aren't as comfortable under the bright lights of a rivalry game.
SEC Standings and What This Loss Means
This loss drops Mississippi State to 10-8 overall and a concerning 2-3 in conference play. Before this three-game skid, things were looking up. They had just beaten Texas in a 101-98 overtime thriller and dismantled Oklahoma. Now? They’re sitting near the bottom of the middle-tier of the SEC.
The schedule isn't getting any easier.
The Bulldogs have to travel to College Station next to face a tough Texas A&M squad. Then they return home to face Vanderbilt, who is currently ranked in the Top 10. There is no room for a "learning curve" anymore.
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Breaking Down the Box Score
| Statistic | Mississippi State | Ole Miss |
|---|---|---|
| Final Score | 67 | 68 |
| Field Goal % | 39.4% | 40.8% |
| 3-Point % | 22.0% | 10.0% |
| Free Throw % | 65.0% | 80.0% |
The table above is a bit misleading if you don't look at the free-throw line. Ole Miss won this game at the charity stripe. They shot 80%, while State left points on the table, shooting a dismal 65%. In a one-point game, that is literally the difference between a win and a loss.
Moving Forward: Can Chris Jans Right the Ship?
The Bulldogs aren't out of the tournament conversation yet, but the margin for error has disappeared. They’re currently hovering around the 90s in the NET rankings. To get back into the bubble conversation, they need "Quad 1" wins.
Losing at home to your rival hurts more than just the pride; it hurts the resume.
Jans mentioned in the postgame that the team has to figure out how to "put together 40 minutes." It sounds like a cliché, but for this group, it’s the literal truth. They play like a Final Four team for ten minutes, then play like they’ve never seen a basketball for the next five.
If you're a fan, you've gotta hope the shooting slump is temporary. Hubbard is too good to stay this cold for long. But until someone else proves they can consistently score when the defense collapses on the star guard, the Mississippi State basketball score might continue to be a source of frustration for the Maroon and White faithful.
Next Steps for Bulldog Fans:
Keep a close eye on the injury report for the Texas A&M game on Wednesday. If the Bulldogs can't find a secondary scoring option to relieve the pressure on Hubbard, Chris Jans might need to shake up the starting lineup. Watch the first five minutes of the next game; if State doesn't come out aggressive in the paint, it could be another long night in the SEC.